WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2020 ❚ SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
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Two newcomers face off in commissioner primary
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A pair of political newcomers have a difficult task
ahead.
First-time candidates Ashley Carson Cottingham
and Dan Norton face off in the May 19 Democratic pri-
mary for a seat on the Marion County Commission.
Both Norton and Carson Cottingham filed for the
primary shortly before the deadline and their cam-
paigns have been limited due to the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
And the three Marion County Commissioner posi-
tions have been exclusively held by Republicans since
1976.
“I was glad to see there were two people running for
the Democratic party,” Norton said.
The primary winner will face Republican Danielle
Bethell, a Salem-Keizer school board member, in the
November election. Bethell is running opposed in the
Republican primary.
They are all running to fill the position held by Re-
publican Sam Brentano since 2003. Brentano an-
nounced in October 2019 he would not seek reelection.
“I think the fact that a Democrat hasn’t been on the
Marion County Commission in over 40 years means
it’s time to have some new ideas and new voices on the
commission,” Carson Cottingham said.
“I think people are ready for change. We have a
much different county that we had in previous years.
There are a lot of voices that aren’t heard at the leader-
ship level.”
The two other current Marion County Commission-
ers are Republicans Kevin Cameron and Colm Willis.
Their terms run through 2022.
Carson Cottingham’s background is in public policy
and her job experience is in directing departments as-
sisting elderly and those with disabilities; Norton’s
background is in science and the military.
They both bring unique viewpoints through their
decades of work in the public sector.
Carson Cottingham’s current position as Deputy Di-
rector for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman for Oregon
investigates complaints in assisted living and memory
care facilities.
“I do have a background in policy, but I have run
massive government entities far larger than the coun-
ty entity,” she said. “We had a $3.4 billion biennial bud-
See PRIMARY, Page 2A
Gates' turmoil
threatens project
that benefits
Willamette Valley
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Grey Ferrando traveled 28 hours from Stayton to Jefferson, South Dakota, to participate in one of the first
races since the COVID-19 outbreak. MADELEINE COOK/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Going the distance
Stayton plumber takes
cross-country trek for
a chance to race
A sewer project with wider implications
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A plumber from Stayton drove halfway across the
United States during the coronavirus lockdown to
compete in the only organized sporting event in the
country.
Grey Ferrando traveled 28 hours to race Saturday
and Sunday in Jefferson, South Dakota, the first races
since most states shut down all organized sporting
events due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
South Dakota is one of the few states that hasn't
had a stay-home order in place, unlike Oregon, but the
races went on despite local leaders advising them not
to.
Ferrando has regularly traveled long distances to
race, but never under such circumstances.
“It was nice to get to race,” Ferrando said.
When it was announced a few weeks ago that races
would take place at Park Jefferson International
Speedway and neighboring The New Raceway Park in
Jefferson, South Dakota with fields capped at 32 en-
Drivers prepare to race at Park Jefferson Speedway
on Saturday in Jefferson, South Dakota. The event
is going on without fans present because of the
coronavirus pandemic. ERIN BORMETT/ARGUS LEADER
trants, Ferrando was one of the first to sign up.
It’s a long way to go from his home outside Stayton,
but towing long distances is common for him.
In the past few years, Ferrando has regularly trav-
eled the West Coast, raced at the IMCA Super Nation-
als in Boone, Iowa, the Mark Martin Race For Hope 74
in Batesville, Arkansas and most recently in Arizona
in February.
See RACING, Page 4A
Oregon House District 17 primary
field crowded on Republican side
Pete Martini
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The Oregon House of Representative District 12 will
have a new occupant in 2021, as incumbent Sherrie
Sprenger is running for Linn County Commissioner.
There is only one Democrat running in the May 19
primary, but six Republicans.
On the Democratic side, the lone candidate is Paige
Hook, a Western Oregon University graduate who
currently serves on the Stayton City Council.
She is passionate about rural Oregon, and she says
residents in the area deserve climate legislation that
is economically sustainable. She’s also an advocate
for affordable housing and properly funded emergen-
Hook
Richards
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Sword
Kirsch
cy services. She has raised $4,177.20 in campaign
contributions this year, and she has a cash balance of
$3,671.80.
The Republican side is a crowded field, with Dylan
Richards, Scott Sword, Timothy L. Kirsch, Susan
Coleman, Bruce Cuff and Jami Cate all running in the
See STATE HOUSE, Page 3B
Vol. 139, No. 20
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
A small city’s turmoil has threatened to derail an
infrastructure project that has implications to cities
throughout the Willamette Valley.
A series of contentious city council meetings in
Gates concerning the proposed North Santiam waste-
water project divided a community, led to the resigna-
tions of a city councilor and mayor, and might have
derailed the largest infrastructure project in the San-
tiam Canyon in decades.
Now, as Gates seeks two new members for its six-
person city council, Marion County and representa-
tives of Detroit, Idanha and Mill City are left to figure
out how to move forward with its landmark wastewa-
ter project. It's a project that could benefit cities that
get their drinking water downstream on the North
Santiam River such as Salem, Albany, Stayton and
Turner.
“I want to go back and see what are the possibilities
of continuing the progress that we’ve made and con-
tinue down the road with the research we need to do,
the consulting we need to do to see how much the sys-
tem would have to cost,” Marion County Commission-
er Kevin Cameron said.
“It would have to be done anyways. Let’s just keep
going.”
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The idea of a joint sewer system for Santiam Can-
yon cities including Detroit, Mill City, Gates, Idanha
and Lyons – which lie along the North Santiam River –
has percolated for decades, but Marion County’s in-
volvement in the past few years has put it into the
realm of possibility.
Detroit and Idanha have looked at building waste-
water systems in the past, but it hasn’t been economi-
cally feasible for one city to undertake.
"My understanding and this was before I was up
there, they were actually getting ready to break
ground on a system," Detroit Mayor Jim Trett said.
Of the involved cities, only Mill City has a sewer
system, but it is nearing the end of its lifespan.
In the other Santiam Canyon cities, all properties
have septic systems, and many need replacement or
soon will. And if the current septic systems fail, sew-
age could spill into the water source for hundreds of
thousands of people.
Multiple studies have shown the cities in the area
are limited in growth due to the lack of a sewer system.
“In Gates the motel would like to expand, as well as
the trailer park, but cannot because the cost of sewer
and room to put it in is prohibitive,” former Gates May-
or Jerry Marr said.
The most recent concept for the project would have
linked Detroit and Idanha in one system and Mill City
and Gates in another.
Estimates on cost are in the $90 million range, but
no official number has been determined.
“It’s a lot more expensive than a normal one would
be,” Marion County Economic Development Danielle
Gonzalez said. “Because of the complexity of the geol-
ogy and the complexity of the four cities, we were go-
ing to move forward with the money we had in our
budget to get the design and engineering.”
Marion County and Business Oregon each already
spent more than $100,000 and countless hours on the
project.
Though residents in the sewer district would have
to pay for the system, they wouldn’t have to shoulder
all costs.
“We’re going to have to Frankenstein funds togeth-
er,” Gonzalez said. “It’s going to be clean water funds,
it’s going to be development funds. It’s going to be a
complex grant writing process.”
The North Santiam Joint Wastewater Project task
force was formed with members of the city councils of
Detroit, Idanha, Mill City and Gates, but reached the
stage where it needed the involved cities to sign an
intergovernmental agreement that would create a
government independent of the cities.
Marion County was slated to release another
$400,000 for an engineering study and design of the
project when the agreement was signed, which Mill
City, Detroit and Idanha did in the past few months.
All they needed was Gates.
See GATES, Page 2A